‘The Last of Us’ Has Been in Development for Two Years

While they were placing the finishing touches on Uncharted 3, developer Naughty Dog was also working on their new title The Last of Us. In fact, this game has been in development for the past two years. Neil Druckman, Creative Director at Naughty Dog, confirmed this via his Twitter account.

The Last of Us was unveiled at the Spike 2011 VGAs, but before that came an Easter egg in Uncharted 3. The fact that it was hinted at in Uncharted – and indicating that Naughty Dog might be involved – instantly placed The Last of Us on everyone’s radar. Now that we have confirmation the game has been in development for a couple years, this means we have less time to wait until it’s released.

If this game is anywhere near the quality of Naughty Dog’s last outing with Uncharted 3 (see our review), then this could be the next must-have game for the PS3. Those who viewed the trailer for The Last of Us know that the visual style and setting is reminiscent of Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, with its lush green overgrowth, as mother nature reclaims what was once hers.

The tone of the trailer may bring back memories of another survival game, Dead Island, a title whose trailer advertised a gripping emotional narrative, but in the end delivered more of the same. Those who have experienced Naughty Dog’s work on the Uncharted series know that this will not happen with The Last of Us.

The developer is known for recruiting high-caliber voice talent. This will be the case for The Last of Us, as it was recently confirmed that Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker – two veteran voice actors in both games and television – will be voicing the lead roles of the games.

Now all we need is some gameplay footage. Seeing how the game has been in development for a couple years, we might get to see some possibly open world gameplay soon (possibly). Perhaps we might get to see some around the time E3 rolls around in 2012.